My Little Lollipop

Chapter 1 : A Night To Remember

The weather was mild and comfortable, with a bit of a breeze blowing through the college campus. The leaves on the trees were starting to turn yellow and orange, signaling the arrival of Autumn and the coming winter months. Pine Point College is a mix of brick and steel structures, with a lot of open grass areas and trees scattered throughout the campus. The college is known for its good education as well as its partying atmosphere, as many young adults flock there for both the education and the social activities. Tom and Lily had been best friends since they have been three, though they couldn't have been any more different from one another. The two got along well enough despite their contrasting personalities, though there were times that Tom would try to convince Lily to let loose a bit and join in on the fun. The two had plenty of good times and even more memories together, and with their graduation on the horizon, neither was sure what their future would bring. Tom Chambers, an outgoing and a bit of a party animal, he's a good student but his main focus is on having fun after work and stress get too much for him to handle. Lily Morgan, a bit more reserved and studious, she's a good student but can sometimes be a bit uptight and doesn't always enjoy the college parties that her best friend Tom enjoys.  When they were little, Tom and Lily played together in the playground and exploring the forest around the small town they grew up in. They were like two birds of a feather, always doing everything together and enjoying each other's company. Despite growing up in different households, they still saw each other as family and felt safe and loved around one another. However, since childhood, Lily had always had a secret crush on Tom, though she never admitted her feelings due to them being best friends. As they grew older and went to college together, Lily still had feelings for Tom and was always trying to drop hints for him, hoping that one day he would pick them up and they could become more than just best friends. Lily tried to find time to tell Tom....but she didn't want to add more stress to his life than he already had. Once the weekend came both decided to take part in a college party together after Tom got stressed out over work. Lily was feeling more and more nervous as the party went on, finding it difficult to hold her composure around Tom who seemed oblivious to her feelings for him. She was feeling overwhelmed by her own emotions and the crowds at the party so she had to sneak away from the party for a moment to gather her thoughts. When Lily returned to the party, Tom was on the other side of the dance floor waving to Lily.....he was drunk.
"Hey ! L-Lil-Lily", Tom yelled while stumbling over Lily and leaning against her.
"Are you drunk ?", Lily asked chuckling a bit.
"Me? n-n-noo...", he makes a very obvious liar face and grabs Lily with one arm. "I'm just...just a biiiit tipsy..."
"Alright come on I'm driving you home".
"I'm not thaat drunk... I can drive just fine..."
Lily says sarcastically, "Sure you can... I can already tell that driving home will be a fuuun time..."
"I'm fiiine, Lily... I mean, c'mon, I could drive a car even w-while unconscious! Besides You...you don't need to do that...I can just...like...get one of those....those cabby things....small yellow....thingies..."

Lily slowly placed her arm around Tom and began walking him towards her car. As he walked alongside her, she smiled and chuckled to herself as she saw the look of confusion on his face. She was feeling brave and decided to help her best friend, grabbing his hand and leading him towards her car. Tom followed without argument. Tom was like dead weight, leaning against Lily for stability and unable to stand without her shoulder to lean on. He appeared to be completely out of it, his head rolling back and his eyes half closed as he was clearly unable to stand up straight.
"Lily... I just want to say, that your shoulder is really soft to leaan against...", Tom slurred. "You know, I know we've be—been best friends forrrreverr......i don't even know who you are stranger", Tom drooping his head further, almost sleeping.
Lily laughed a bit helping Tom into her car, closing the door behind him as he slumped down in his seat and seemed to fall asleep instantly. It was clear that he was far from being in a coherent state. She began the drive home and feeling a bit anxious for his safety. Lily lead Tom up to his front door, his body leaning heavily on her as he swayed back and forth.
"Where's your keys ?"
"I'm...not sure.... j...just..put the key...the key in the...the little thing...",his eyes are just glazed over pointing at a bush.
Lily searches in his jacket pocket and find his keys and open his front door, "Tom thats a bush.....come on party animal".
He fell in the bush then stumbled into the house, his footing still very much off, "y...you don't...don't really need to...stay...d'you?"
"No I..I'll stay.. I just want to get you into bed and make sure you're not going to...you know.. do anything stupid...", Lily says a bit worried for him.
"Your, uh, bed's this way".
"Yes Tom your bed is this way", Lily starts leading him upstairs.
Tom grins at Lily goofily and stumbles up the stairs towards his room, "y...y...you're t...the best...". He starts heading up the stairs, holding on to the railing. Tom keeps mumbling something, though it's unclear what it is exactly he's saying. Lily is pretty sure that he's saying something like "Best friend ever," but she can't be sure. He stumbles into his room and collapses on his bed, immediately closing his eyes as his head rolls back onto the pillow. Lily watches him silently, concerned for his safety but also feeling happy that she could take care of him tonight just in case he gets really ill. Lily tries not to chuckle because Tom is slurring some funny jokes. She taps his face softly, trying to get his attention but also hoping that he wouldn't sleep just yet. She didn't know how much alcohol Tom had actually consumed because he didn't seem able to communicate coherently at the moment.
"Hey....dont you want pajamas on to at least feel comfortable ?"
"P..pa..pajamas? I'm to...tired to change into them....whatever your name is... your bed seems so...comfy and warm... I wouldn't mind sleeping here j..j...just for tonight.. ", it seems he's even forgotten how to form properly sentences.
Lily couldn't help but chuckle, "Tom it's your bed.....oh never mind....You'll feel better if you get all cleaned up".
Tom grabs onto Lily's hand and squeezes it slightly - an indication of his appreciation...he's definitely a little too wasted to be doing anything else other than being cute.
"S...sleepy....", he's pretty much drifting into slumber now. His breathing's starting to slow down...his sleep talking may start soon.
Lily puts her arm under Tom's and lifts him up, getting him up on her shoulder again. She says, "Come on to the bathroom we must go. I have a feeling you're going to need to let stuff out."
Tom nods groggily and walks weakly towards the bathroom at her direction, still somewhat incoherent as she leads him across the hall. "I...I'll be....fine....", he sounds a little bit annoyed at Lily's suggestion. Lily can tell that Tom is suffering from the effects of drinking too much, as he is incoherent and walking very slowly. She could also hear his stomach rumbling and making strange noises, which made her suspect that he was going to be nauseous soon if he wasn't already. Lily tries to hurry him to the bathroom as quickly as possible, wanting to get him to the toilet before this happened. He immediately starts throwing up into the toilet bowl...Lily can tell he's trying not to make too much noise...but...he's not doing too great of a job. Lily gets a warm cloth with water on it so he could wipe his face. Tom wipes his mouth and holds his head still for a second, "Th....thanks...for...being...here...", he groans a little bit.
"Shhhh it's okay......", Lily says although concerned smiles a bit at the memory of how stubborn he could be.
Tom suddenly starts throwing up again, violently, "Thi...... this su....sucksss..".
After a while, Tom stops throwing up and leans his head against Lily's shoulder. He's still feeling badly and is obviously nauseous, his stomach churning with its contents and doing its best to expel anything it can hold. The acid in his stomach is churning around and his stomach is doing its best to work through the pain on its own, which is obviously both uncomfortable and painful. Lily can hear the sounds of his stomach working itself and the acid churning around his intestines, feeling bad for his discomfort. "Th...thanks...", he squeezes her hand...he seems desperate not to be alone right now....Lily been with him all this time, it seems he really appreciates Lily being there right now. After another few minutes...he opens his eyes, looking really pale and sweat on his forehead. After he's thrown up everything in his stomach...his stomach seems empty but he still just feels awful. He continues leaning his head against Lily, his head feeling really hot and the skin looking slightly clammy. Lily puts another cloth on his head gently to keep him cool. Lily can tell that Tom is still in pain but he's doing his best to stay strong and not make a fuss about it. He seems really grateful for her being here with him and for the cloth which is helping to soothe his temperature. After a little while, his grip on her hand feels looser and his grasp weaker, as she suspects that he's starting to fall asleep. Lily helps him back into bed. He immediately lies down and cuddles up in the blankets as Lily sits by his side to make sure he's ok. He's still really hot - a combination of his fever and just throwing up - so he's glad to be under the covers like that. Tom looks at Lily, a soft smile forming on his face before his eyes become heavy again. He looks really comfortable and exhausted right now...he still grips your hand tightly, his breathing becoming more shallow. He starts closing his eyes and drifting into sleep. As Lily watches Tom until he is fully asleep in his bed, she feels a mix of emotions washing over her. She was feeling satisfied that she was able to take care of him and that everything had worked out. At the same time, she was feeling sentimental and nostalgic about their friendship, thinking back to when they were both little kids, and how they had always been best friends now here she is caring for her best friend in college. Lily closes her eyes for a moment, letting her memories of their childhood wash over.